To Save Your Life
by Gratia Astra
Summary: It wasn't Vader that killed Obi-Wan...Anakin still lives inside the machine, but are his regrets enough to save the last person he truly loves? One-shot,canon,NOT slash, BE WARNED! My first fan-fic ever! Please be nice.


Disclaimer: I do not own Darth Vader, Darth Sidious, or Anakin Skywalker. I only own Obi-Wan in my dreams. *****Sigh*, it all belongs to George Lucas.

Summary: It wasn't Darth Vader that killed Obi-Wan...Anakin still lives inside Vader, and when his beloved Master returns, he must make a choice. He regrets all that he's done, but is it enough to save the last person he truly loves? One-shot, canon, Not slash. Be warned, this is my first fan-fic ever.

Time: A New Hope

**A/N**: This was banging around my head for hours when I was working the other day, so I had to write it down. Rather demanding little muse. This is all told entirely from Anakin's POV.

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"_I sense something. A presence I've not felt since..." -Vader_

-~~~0~~~-

Vader feels you first.

Your presence is so warm. It feels good. Ever since Vader took over, all I've felt is cold.

At first, I'm actually happy. Vader is never happy, and I haven't been happy in so long, I've forgotten what it feels like. But you're here. You're here, and I've never been so happy to feel you. I've missed you so, Master. I've missed your guidance, that smirk that says you know something I don't know, or your teasing laughter. I've missed your smile, and those ever-changing ocean-eyes of yours.

Then it fades as I hear Vader's thoughts.

He's planning on taking you alive. He wants to take you to Sidious, alive.

I'm suddenly afraid, Master. I know what will happen if he does. He will watch, and I will have to watch, as Sidious breaks you. Sidious will torture your fragile being and you won't be strong enough to stop him. I can feel you. You've become old, my friend. The loneliness and pain have taken their toll on you. I can't deny it, even though I want to. You are weak. You can't even shield yourself from Vader. Can you feel him, Master? Can you get away?

A memory comes to me, from when I was a child, still under your care. When I was still your Padawan, and the worlds had yet to come crashing down. The memory is words and pictures and feelings. I don't remember exactly what I was thinking about when I asked. I remember how I felt. I remember how _you_ felt.

"_Master, would you ever kill someone to save their life?" _

_You look at me, trying to figure out how that would be possible. I watch your face as it changes, enjoying the show. At first, you are confused. Then you become thoughtful. Your green eyes shift to a blue-gray as you contemplate the question. Your head tilts just the slightest bit to the left, a sign that you're really thinking. _

"_Yes and no." You finally say. I wait patiently for you to explain, anxious to hear your reasoning. You take a breath, wanting to say it in a way that I will understand what you mean._

"_I think yes, I could do it if I had to. If there was no other way, no other choice. But..." You pause and look down. I duck my head a little, trying to see your eyes again. "...but there are some people that I would not be able to, even to save their life. I'm just not strong enough should it come to that." _

_You look up again, to see if you've said it right, if I get it. I don't. But then through the bond, I catch the tail of your thoughts. It's just three images, of three people. I feel sadness, and I see Qui-Gon. I feel regret, and I see a blonde woman that I think I should recognize, but don't. I feel love, and see a picture of me. I get it now. You love us too much to be able to kill us, even to save us. Qui-Gon, this woman, and myself. _

_I reach up and wrap my arms around you as best I can. You hug me back, and I wonder if I would ever be strong enough to do that._

You were right, Master. On Mustafar, when you and Vader were fighting to the death, you had to do just that. You tried, you really did. To save what was left of the Republic, in hopes of saving any Jedi that might have survived the betrayal. To save me. But you couldn't. You were so close, my brother. But you loved me too much to end my life. Even after all Vader had done, you still loved me.

You didn't know that I cried. As I surrendered my body to Vader, believing it would save Padme, I cried. I knew what it meant, that you would be hurt. I knew it would hurt all the Jedi, and probably a good portion of the universe, but I did it anyway. And now I have nothing. It's ironic, isn't it? In trying to prevent my wife's death, I instead sent her to it. Even now, I can remember that moment. That one pivotal minute when Vader grabbed her throat, that I was later told turned out to be fatal. She said the words that still ring in my head, that even cut into Vader's soul.

"_Obi-Wan was right."_

We all lost everything, Master. Padme lost her husband and her life. You lost your home, your family, all you ever cared about. I lost the love of my life, my master, and myself. Even Vader lost. He is but an empty shell, with no power and no loyalty. Sometimes the agony of what I've done is too much, and Vader has to hide in his quarters as the tears overwhelm us both. Would you believe that if I told you, Master? We both cry. We both cry for what we've done, and what we've lost.

Oh, my brother, I can't let him do that. I can't let him take you to Sidious, to die at his hands. He has already caused you so much suffering. And I let him. But I can't now. You are all I have left. I will not lose you too. But the only other option...

...is to kill you myself.

Can I kill you, to save your life, dear friend? Vader could, but he won't. Can I do it, end your precious life? I don't want to. I want you to live and be free and happy. But I want to save you from Sidious more. Can I save you a tenth time, one last time? Can I hold the monster down, long enough to do the unthinkable and actually strike you down?

I must. I must.

I know now how hard it was for you on Mustafar. Vader is unaware of my plans, as he bars your escape.

When I first see you through the red of Vader's mask, I want to cry all over again. I'm so overjoyed to see you for the first time in so long, that for a moment I miss the changes. Then I see them. Your hair, that beautiful, silky copper is gone. It's white, and thin. The lines on your face seem endless, making you appear far too old. You look so tired. You hold yourself differently, like a man that's spent too long hiding himself from the world. And your eyes. Those brilliant blue-green orbs are now flat and gray. Even as you draw your saber, I can see the sadness in your eyes. My betrayal, my demise still hurts you.

I'm not angry at Vader for doing this to you. He murdered the Jedi, even the innocent children. He took my wife from me. He's the one who led the clone troopers into the Temple. He's the one that stood by as our home burned. All those people that he's murdered, but you leaves alive. Do you see how cruel he is? For I can see in your eyes, to live and be forced to watch as all you love dies around you is the worst kind of fate. It is a fate we share, my brother. But even this heartless cruelty cannot make me hate him. I have no hate left. It was hate that created him, and he is all my hate and anger. He uses it, leaving none for me. Perhaps it is better that way.

But Master, if I do not fear or hate him, if I am not angry, then how do I fight him?

Long ago, I knew. I knew how to do it. You showed me. But I don't remember. Something sparks in my soul. I _have_ to remember.

It comes to me just as I despair I will never know.

_You were my brother, Anakin! I loved you, but I could not save you._

My wonderful Master. You are always right. Did you understand that you were talking to Vader that day? It doesn't matter. You're couldn't have saved me then, my friend. Vader had only recently been born, his power at its peak.

That's what it is that I've forgotten. That is what died with Padme, and my heart. That is what you took with you, when the heartache became too much and you left Vader to die. That is how I fight.

I fight for love.

It's difficult, Master. For so, so long, I've sat by and watched as Vader committed atrocities with my hands. But now I'm fighting back. This time, I can't watch from the sidelines. I want to have control again. I won't let him hurt you anymore. My mother died in my arms. My wife died, with you by her side instead of me. Yes, I know about that Master. I will not allow the Sith to kill you, at their pleasure.

Vader says something meaningless to you, to disguise the fact that we are at war inside this mechanical body. He is stronger, he has been in charge without challenge for all this time. But my love for you is far greater than his hate. Our lightsabers strike at each other, ridiculously weak. Oh, how the mighty have fallen! The last time we fought, it was almost too fast for the average person to keep up with. Your face scrunches a little as you wonder why Vader isn't attacking you. Can you feel him struggling, Master? You are distracted by something in the hangar bay. I take advantage of it, and ambush the dark monster currently occupying my mind.

And I win.

For one second, and one second only, I am once again in control of my body. It's foreign and wondrous at once. It won't last, I know, so I have to move quickly. You turn back to me, a smile quirking at your lips. Have you felt what has happened? Do you know what I'm about to do?

I think you do. You raise your saber, almost in salute, making it easy for me. Vader snarls as I swing the blood-red lightsaber through your defenseless midsection. A flash of déjà vu, and I recall that this is how you killed Darth Maul. Again, with the irony.

But I don't. The weapon never makes contact. Your robe falls to the floor, and you're no longer in it. Vader resumes control instantly, furious at my brief power over him. He investigates the brown cloth, but I ignore him. I don't care how it happened. So long as it did.

You are safe! You are free! Rejoicing fills my soul, irritating Vader even further. The Sith will never again touch you. I have felt you join the Force. I want to sing. I have succeeded. I did it. I did it, Master. I was strong enough. And now I'm even stronger. Happiness again swells in my heart. I know that I can overcome Vader again. This experience has given me strength. And I know just how to use it.

I swear to you Master, by the memory of the Jedi, that I will destroy the Sith, and fulfill my destiny as Anakin Skywalker. When the time comes, I will overthrow Vader once and for all. I will shove him into the corner where I've been trapped, and lock him away forever. I will destroy his Master, Sidious, even if it kills me. If it is the last thing I do, I will redeem myself and join you in the Force. I will be reunited with Padme. I will prove to you that it was not your fault, that you could not have been a better Master, a better friend. Qui-Gon and I will conspire together to bring smiles to your face. I will make peace with my friends. In the afterlife, we will all watch over the world, never to be separated again.

I smile. Vader lets me because he thinks you are dead, and no one can see it anyway. I smile because you were right when you said that I was going to be the death of you. But you were also wrong, Master.

You _did_ save me. Without you, I would never have found the strength to fight Vader. I would have forever forgotten what love was, and been irrevocably lost to the Sith. You saved me.

As the warmth of your presence fades in the endless Force, I hear something. Something I've not heard in ages.

Your voice.

_I love you, Anakin._

The warmth fades, but doesn't leave entirely. I know now that it never will. Until I die, maybe even after, this feeling will be with me in my heart. A new hope comes over me as I answer you.

_I love you too, Obi-Wan._

_

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**A/N**: The end! All done! Well, how was it? Did you like it? Did you hate it? Tell me please.


End file.
